Apparel retailer Giordano International (0709) reported on Wednesday its net profit fell 10.7 percent year-on-year to HK$108 million, weighed by sluggish demand in the Middle East, its largest market.
The company declared an interim dividend of 6.7 HK cents per share, down 10.7 percent from 7.5 HK cents per share a year earlier.
Giordano sustained a resilient half-year performance: revenue edged down 1 percent to HK$1.91 billion, but would have grown 0.4pc stripping out the impact of the Middle East crisis, according to its filing document.
Gross profit rose by 1.7 percent and would have climbed 5.8 percent excluding the impact of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a bloc of six Gulf Arab states.
The GCC region posted a 7.1 percent revenue decline, affected by softer consumer sentiment and tourism traffic down as much as 40 percent since late February. Separately, tentative signs of stabilization emerged in July, the company said.
Greater China recorded a 4.2 percent rise in retail sales, while Southeast Asia and Australia posted a 1.6 percent revenue growth.
Meanwhile, its e-commerce business also improved with a 14.2 percent increase in sales for the core Giordano brands. The GCC and Mainland China, in particular, grew by 33.3 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively.
The company rebranded Giordano Ladies in April, driving 5 percent first-half sales growth in Hong Kong with positive customer feedback. It will accelerate the revamp in Hong Kong including Manson House in Tsim Sha Tsui in the second quarter of 2027, and extend the model to other markets.
Starting from the fourth quarter of 2026, the company will launch Giordano 2.0, a brand refresh featuring upgraded store formats, customer experience, product range and retail footprint, which includes launching a new proprietary website in Hong Kong and Singapore, it added.
Frank Feng
